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Rabat – US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan raised normalization with Israel during a recent meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), Axios reported today.
The news website referred to three US and Arab sources as saying the MBS-Sullivan meeting, which took place in the Saudi city of Neom on September 27, mainly explored a potential normalization agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel.
When Sullivan brought up the idea of a Saudi-Israeli rapprochement, Axios reported, MBS “didn’t reject it out of hand.”
Instead, Saudi Arabia said normalization “would take time” and gave Sullivan a list of steps that would have to be taken first, according to Axios.
Saudi demands mainly concern improved relations with the US, following the estrangement the Gulf kingdom has suffered at the hand of the Biden administration over human rights abuse concerns.
Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal Bin Farhan met US Secretary of State Tony Blinken last Thursday in Washington. Although neither country mentioned normalization with Israel in their public statements after the meeting, the two diplomats are believed to have discussed the idea of a possible extension of the Abraham Accords to include Saudi Arabia.
The Biden administration has repeatedly spoken of its intent to uphold the terms of the Trump-brokered Abraham Accords, which brought many Arab countries to the negotiation table with the US and Israel.
During a trilateral meeting in Washington with the foreign ministers of Israel and the United Arab Emirates last week, Blinken stated that Washigton is “committed to continue building on the efforts of the last administration to expand the circle of countries with normalized relations with Israel in the years ahead.”
Both Blinkin and Sullivan reportedly discussed expanding the Abraham Accords in their meetings last week with Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, according to various US and Israeli reports.
A normalization agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel would add the largest Gulf kingdom to the list of 5 countries that have to date signed up to a US-mediated agreement to normalize relations with the Jewish state.
Saudi Arabia supported the UAE’s decision to sign a peace treaty with Israel, and gave Bahrain a green light to join the Abraham Accords.
Even though it allowed a Boeing 737 from israeli airline El Al to cross its airspace on its way to the UAE in late 2020, Saudi Arabia was deemed to be undecided on a normalization agreement. King Salman had previously expressed “the kingdom’s desire to reach a lasting and just solution for the Palestinian cause to achieve peace.”
Other than improved relations with the US, Saudi Arabia demanded some kind of diplomatic overture on the Palestinian question before it could normalize relations with the Jewish state, Axios reported.
While Saudi Arabia still appears reluctant to embark on the normalization bandwagon, many experts expect the kingdom to eventually agree to rapprochement with Israel.
